Project could go under bay

A tunnel could be built under Morecambe Bay to connect Heysham to a proposed new nuclear power station near Sellafield.

This is one of the options National Grid will soon be consulting the public about after it revealed plans to connect new sources of electricity generation into the ‘grid’ in Lancashire and Cumbria.

The other option is to go onshore from Moorside to a point on the existing network at Harker, near Carlisle.

National Grid will be starting a major consultation exercise in September to seek peoples views on the North West Coast Connections project.

National Grid has been asked to provide a connection into the electricity transmission network for the proposed new 3.4GW nuclear power station, Moorside, near Sellafield in West Cumbria and to export energy produced by a number of wind farms in the Irish Sea.

Over a five year period, National Grid has been working with local authorities in Lancashire and Cumbria, key groups and individuals on the options available for connecting the proposed new power generation.

Robert Powell, Project Manager said: “The discussions we’ve had over the course of several years have given us invaluable information which has helped us develop and refine the options for connecting new power generation into our network.

“We’re now at a crucial stage of our project. We’re getting ready to share with local communities all the work that we have done to date and to seek their views on our findings including what we have identified as our ‘emerging preference’ at this point.” Based on feedback and an initial consultation exercise in 2012, National Grid took two connection options forward for further development which will be shared during consultation.

People are being encouraged to register their details on the North West Coast Connections project website now to ensure they get regular updates on the project and details of the consultation.